A collage of baskets in various shapes and sizes.

Erica Nelson Menard (Artist Profile)

October 9, 2025 News

Erica Nelson Menard is a Penobscot brown ash and sweetgrass basket maker. She was introduced to the tradition by her grandmother, Philomene Saulis Nelson.  During visits to Philomene’s home Erica watched her prepare materials on Indian Island.  She loved watching Philomene dye splints in bright blues, reds, browns, yellows, and purples and seeing her grandmother combining them into baskets to create stunning color combinations. It wasn’t until Erica was in her late 40s that she took up the tradition of basketmaking.

An apprenticeship with her mentor and cousin, Theresa Secord gave Erica an opportunity to reconnect with basketmaking.  Using her grandmother’s molds, she creates ancestral designs based on the Penobscot-style baskets produced by her grandmother, Philomene and her cousin, Theresa.  Erica’s baskets include ash and sweetgrass boxes, sweetgrass flats, and other baskets with braided sweetgrass in the Nelson family style. For Erica, each basket she creates connects her with her grandmother and this traditional art form.   She is passing the tradition on to her daughter and granddaughter, who will also attend the Wabanaki Winter Market at the Hudson Museum.

Erica’s work has been showcased in various exhibitions, including the Portland Museum of Art and the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine.  Erica has done art  basket demonstrations for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA.

Gallery – Erica Nelson Menard, Penobscot Basketmaker

  • A basket seen mostly from above.
  • A basket shaped like an acorn.
  • A small basket with a cover.
  • A flat, circular basket with a braided grass handle.
  • Top view of a square basket with a braided grass handle and light blue details.
  • A basket tray with orange details.
  • A circular basket woven with braided grass, with a cover and a large braided grass handle.

Upcoming 2025 Wabanaki Winter Market (Saturday, December 13, 2025):

Organized by the Hudson Museum, the Wabanaki Winter Market is New England’s largest holiday gathering of Wabanaki artists. The annual December event features award-winning Wabanaki weavers as well as new artists representing the next generation of artists.

The event is supported in part by a grant from Four Directions Development Corporation.

Location of the event: The Collins Center for the Arts (2 Flagstaff Road | Orono, Maine)

Date: Saturday, December 13, 2025 (from 9 am to 3 pm)

Contact: Gretchen Faulkner | Director, Hudson Museum (207.581.1904) For event updates, please visit: https://www.wabanakiwintermarket.org